iPhone 15 to bring biggest change as sales decrease

The biggest change in the iPhone 15 is rumoured to be a USB-C charging point, getting rid of Apple's proprietary Lightning charger.

This switch would come less than a year after the EU voted to approve legislation to require smartphones, portable speakers and other small devices to support USB-C charging by 2024.

The mandate was put in place due to environmental concerns about e-waste. By using a universal charging cable, consumers would have fewer chargers and cables to deal with and would be able to use the same cable for their other devices, streamlining their experience.

Last year, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, Greg Joswiak, commented on the EU mandate: "We have no choice, like we do around the world, to comply with local laws, but we think the approach would have been better environmentally and better for our customers."

According to Thomas Husson, a vice president at Forrester Research, the change may also sway consumers who have previously rejected Apple's iPhone over its charging limitations.

Furthermore, the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max could have the biggest changes – according to Bloomberg's Gurman, the Pro model's frame will be made from titanium instead of stainless steel. This change in materials could help reduce the weight of each phone.

Another change for both versions of the phone is the chip. The A17 features a tiny 3-nanometre processor, Apple's smallest to date.

Apple's iPhone 15 Pro Max may also get a new 6x optical telephoto camera. Ming-Chi Kuo, a noted Apple analyst with TF International Securities, predicts the iPhone 15 Pro Max will have a horizontally mounted periscope lens and camera unit inside the phone's body.

Doubling the native optical zoom from 3x to 6x should enable consumers to capture zoomed-in photos with better detail, resolution and dynamic range compared with the 6x digital zoom on a current iPhone 14 Pro.

Alongside a new iPhone release, the company will likely also release its latest Apple Watches – as they typically do – and next-generation AirPods. Apple will likely release the Apple Watch Series 9 and possibly its next-generation Ultra 2 smartwatch.

The new AirPods will also feature a new charging case that will work with USB-C cables.

Most new iPhone releases by Apple tend to feature only minor changes, which has been blamed for slowing sales worldwide.

Consumers are holding onto their old devices for longer due to rising costs and environmental impact as well as minor changes which they may think are not worth getting a new phone.

E-waste has become a huge issue in our modern world, and some criticise the constant upgrading to new versions of devices which has a detrimental long-term consequence on the environment.

According to the UN Global E-waste Monitor 2020, 53.6 million metric tonnes of electronic waste was generated worldwide in 2019, increasing by 21 per cent in five years.

While consumers await the new iPhone 15 release, China has barred government officials and employees at state-owned companies from using iPhones, which may also be the reason for a decrease in iPhone sales due to the ongoing tech conflict between China and the US.

By Kaja Traczyk

Kaja Traczyk is a reporter for the International Business Times UK and a Journalism Undergraduate with experience in news writing, reporting, and researching.